ECU Pushes AAC Co-Leader UCF In Three-Set Loss

Friday, October 19

Greenville, N.C.

7:00 p.m.

East Carolina University

12-7, 4-4AAC

UCF

17-3, 8-0AAC

UCF

ECU

October 19, 2018 | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

GREENVILLE, N.C. – ECU kept pace with American Athletic Conference co-leader UCF for much of Friday's contest inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum, but the Knights prevailed 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-21) in the end to extend their winning streak to 14 matches and stay at the top of the standings.

"Our conference is really good so I want our team to play with the same energy level against USF Sunday," head coach Julie Torbett said. "I saw some great volleyball on our side and we were able to extend a number of rallies. UCF is a top-20 team in the RPI and we were playing that close with them. We pushed them out of their comfort zone. We need to do that against every team we play."

The Knights tallied 44 kills and a .221 hitting percentage while the Pirates ended up with 36 kills and hit .153. UCF also held the advantage in digs (62-55) while the teams finished tied with eight total blocks apiece.

Junior middle blocker Toya Osuegbu hit .500 in the match, putting down a team-best 10 kills on 20 attempts with zero errors while adding six blocks. Sydney Hall was close behind with seven kills and two blocks of her own. Defensively, junior libero Maggie Hallow paced ECU with 19 digs while freshman defensive specialist Alden Willis collected 12 and sophomore outside hitter Sydney Kleinman notched 10. McKenna Melville led the Knights with 14 kills and 13 digs, but committed eight attacking errors to finish with a .162 hitting percentage – well below her .246 season average.

"Toya played really great," Torbett stated. "She had an impressive offensive performance and some straight-down blocks which were energy and momentum builders for us. Sydney also worked very hard. She is new to the lineup and just a redshirt freshman. Her bigger presence in the middle adds another dimension to our offense."

The Pirates took an early lead to start the match, pulling ahead 6-3 after a UCF attacking error. A 9-2 run from the visitors propelled the Knights to a 12-8 advantage and prompted ECU to call its first timeout. Despite a late rally by the Purple and Gold, UCF took the first frame by six to grab an early upper hand in the contest.

The Knights grabbed a 9-6 lead in the second following a Pirate attacking miscues, but ECU quickly tied the set at 11 off a Kleinman kill. Osuegbu kept the Pirates close by late in the stanza when her kill sliced the UCF cushion to 20-19, but a pair of ECU errors gave the Knights the breathing room they needed. UCF ended the set on a 5-1 run to seize a 2-0 match lead at the intermission.

The third frame was an all-out battle as Hall afforded the Pirates a 16-14 edge with her sixth kill of the evening. The Knights scored four-straight points from there, but ECU answered with two consecutive scores to tie things at 18. UCF netted four of the next five and held the home team off, claiming the decisive third by four to seal the match.

The Pirates are next in action hosting USF Sunday at Noon. The Bulls were swept by Cincinnati, the other co-leader in the American Conference, earlier Friday evening.